Captains Win in Five Over Eagles

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Juniata College women's volleyball team fell in five at #24 Christopher Newport, in front of a raucous crowd Friday evening at the Freeman Center.  

Marybeth Weihbrecht (Mechanicsburg, Pa. /Cumberland Valley) had 19 kills to lead the Eagles, Megan Moroney (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) tallied 11 kills and four block assists while Marie Gonsar (New Castle, Pa. /Shenango) had eight kills and 16 digs. Alyssa Tavera (Whittier, Calif. /La Salle) had a game-high 25 assists while Sophia Gingrich (Minneapolis, Minn. /Minneapolis, Southwest) tallied 22 assists.

Weihbrecht opened up the game for the Eagles by notching three kills as Juniata leapt out to a 4-0 lead. The Captains closed the gap to 7-5, but several mistakes and a Moroney ace allowed the Eagles to gain some separation at 12-6. Juniata kept CNU at bay from there and took the first set 25-18. The second set saw Juniata tie the score twice early and narrow the deficit to 19-21, but CNU scored the final four points to take the second set 19-25.

The third set saw Juniata take an early 8-3 lead behind two aces from Gonsar. CNU battled back to take a 12-13 lead before Weihbrecht tallied another ace to tie the score at 13. A 7-2 run gave the Eagles a 21-16 edge, but the Generals would not go away. CNU got within two a 22-20, forcing an Eagle timeout. Gonsar got another kill to get the Eagle lead back to 23-21 but the Generals scored the next two to make it 24 all. A CNU attack error followed by a Morgan Edwards (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) kill gave Juniata set three, 27-25.

A tightly contested forth set saw nine ties over the first 24 points as the teams were locked at 12 early on. Five quick points from CNU gave them an 18-13 lead. Juniata managed to get within three at 19-22 via a Gonsar kill, but CNU scored the final three points to force a decisive fifth set.

The fifth set saw CNU take control early, going up 4-0 and cruising to a 15-6 win to take the match.

The Eagles will play Wesleyan (Conn.) at 11:00 and Roger Williams at 1:00, tomorrow.